It’ll be different Saturday, when the Dolphins put on pads for the first time
and conduct contact drills.

”That’s what middle linebackers live for,” McMillan said with a grin, ”so I’m
ready for all of that.”

Especially since McMillan hasn’t had much of a chance to make an impact in
the NFL. The 2017 second-round draft pick from Ohio State won raves and a
starting job in his first few months as a pro, but on his first play in the
first exhibition game, he blew out his right knee covering a punt.

The torn ACL sidelined McMillan for his entire rookie season. He participated
in offseason drills this spring still mindful of his surgically repaired knee,
but is now more confident it’ll hold up.

”On the field I don’t really think about it much at all,” he said. ”In OTAs I
was still thinking about it. I was still worrying about whether it was strong
enough, or if it was ready yet to take every snap. I finally feel like I’m back
to where I was.”

That sounds good to coach Adam Gase 49ers
Fred Warner Jersey , who considers his evaluation of McMillan
incomplete only because the former Butkus Award finalist has yet to play in an
NFL game.

”Everything else tells us he’s exactly what we drafted him to be,” Gase
said.

A year ago, McMillan impressed coaches with his aptitude and leadership
skills, and he thrived in contact drills.

He’s expected to bolster a defense that needs him after ranking fourth-worst
in the league in points allowed last year. The upgrade parallels the return of
quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who’s back after suffering a season-ending injury
one week before McMillan was hurt.

The veteran QB and rookie linebacker rehabbed together, to the benefit of
both.

”They did a good job of pushing each other,” Gase said. ”You hate to say it
was good they had each other to go through that with, because it hurt us not to
have them. But it was good for those two guys to have that other guy.”

McMillan said Tannehill helped him cope with the frustration and physical
challenges of recovery.

”Throughout the whole rehab process, Ryan kind of walked me through what I
was going to feel, how I was going to feel and some of the pains I was going to
have, and how to get through them,” McMillan said.

He began to envision a career as an NFL middle linebacker when he first
arrived at Ohio State and discussed his future with head coach Urban Meyer and
an assistant coach.

”They sat me to the side and told me that was going to be the best position
for me, for my future and for my family,” he said. ”So I took that and ran with
it.”

On the night the Dolphins drafted McMillan Martin
Jones Jersey , he cried tears of joy. Now, after an unlucky
interruption, he’s back on track toward fulfilling his potential. Time to put on
the pads.

—

Now that Mason Rudolph and Ben Roethlisberger have broken the ice, they can
toast the rookie’s new deal.

According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com, the Steelers have agreed to terms
with the third-round quarterback on his four-year deal.

That leaves just first-round pick Terrell Edmunds without a deal, as they
breeze through signings league-wide.

Rudolph was one of the most productive quarterbacks in the country at
Oklahoma State, and some thought he could be a first-rounder. That didn’t
materialize, but the Steelers thought he was too good a value to pass in the
third.

Roethlisberger said immediately after the draft he thought they might have
used the pick on a player of more immediate impact, especially after trading
wide receiver Martavis Bryant. But Roethlisberger said yesterday that we all
took that out of context, and that everything was fine, so it must be.